


the girl with the pink ribbon

by Miraphina Atherton (mew_tsubaki)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Maydayverse, Pre-Relationship, Set during GoF, someone foreseeing a crush lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29889531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton
Summary: They're just first years, but a random thought of Luca's might be the start of something new.
Relationships: Luca Caruso/Alice Tolipan





	the girl with the pink ribbon

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. Read, review, and enjoy!

They met on the train, as so many students do.

He landed a compartment with a pair of brothers and some dark-haired girl. Then she came in, and another boy followed not long after.

To Luca Michali Caruso, the people didn't really matter to him. If he made friends at Hogwarts, then good. If he had to wait until he joined a House, then whatever. If he had to wait until after his education was complete, then he could manage.

The brothers sitting across from him weren't very interesting, but they at least were amusing. They seemed to be nothing but excited about everything. Meanwhile, the dark-haired girl appeared to be the older brother's companion, and she seemed used to at least her friend's personality.

The other boy who joined them chatted when needed but wasn't entirely talkative. But the slight girl sitting to Luca's right was polite and sweet.

"I'm Alice Tolipan," she told him.

"Luca Caruso," he said. He furtively eyed her. She was tiny, and not just short. Her complexion was average and her hair was a dim yet shiny blond. On her left side, she had a pink ribbon plaited through a chunk of her hair. He thought that was very different compared to what he saw all the other girls do.

"Are you excited for Hogwarts?"

He shrugged. "I don't care either way. I always knew I'd be going."

"Yes, but," she said, his dark-haired, pale-eyed image reflecting in her stone-colored eyes, "there has to be _some_ excitement, don't you think? I mean, _Hogwarts_! We'll get to learn so much! And maybe Madam Hooch will do a better job of teaching me to fly than my mum." She rolled her eyes a bit, and he got the feeling that that didn't quite match up with her initial polite qualities.

Alice Tolipan definitely was amusing.

She managed to keep him talking for the duration of the trip, which was a feat in and of itself. By the time they reached the school, Luca felt a little more open to the concept of friends, and they joined the other boy who was their age and the younger brother in one of the boats up to the school.

Alice held the torch for their boat along with Luca. The ride was generally fine until they reached land. The younger brother was the last one out of the boat, and he capsized. He was rescued by the Giant Squid in the Black Lake, however, so he was fine.

Alice giggled at that, and Luca cracked a smile. Maybe Hogwarts would be more than okay.

The Sorting happened, and Luca ended up in Gryffindor with Squid-boy—er, Dennis Creevey—and Nigel Wolpert, their other train ride companion. Alice, on the other hand, went to Hufflepuff, and Luca couldn't fight the tiny frown he had at the announcement. It was harder for people to stay friends with those outside their House.

But Alice didn't let that stop them. She got along with her roommates, but she spent much of her time with Luca, Nigel, and Dennis, and with Luca even when the other two weren't around.

They seemed to be the only students who didn't really care that the Triwizard Tournament was happening at Hogwarts. Alice didn't have an eye for the Durmstrang lot and Luca could care less about the Beauxbatons bevy. In fact, they didn't even participate in the Potter–Diggory rivalry.

"I almost wish we could have a normal school year instead of this," she told him as they played Gobstones in the Gryffindor common room. He often let her in there, and no one seemed to mind.

"I'll give you that," he agreed. "At least Christmas is coming up."

"Yes, but so is that Yule Ball," Alice muttered.

Luca glanced at her, but her eyes were focused on the game. "I think it's a load of rubbish."

The witch sighed and nodded. "Yes, you're probably right." She stood and stretched and went to one of the windows. She crossed her arms and rested them on the windowsill, leaning on the cold stone of the castle. "Not to mention that we're not old enough to go. Although, who wants to dress up in frilly gowns and starched shirts and dance until their feet ache?"

Luca had always fancied himself mature for his age, if much could be said for a mature eleven-year-old. But he felt exactly like a pre-adolescent boy in that moment. And why did he feel that way?

Because he saw Alice Vanessa Tolipan standing at the window in his common room, pausing playing Gobstones with him, and thinking aloud for him to hear. She stood in her wrinkled uniform decorated in yellow and black, with her eyes half closed and her nose turning red from the coolness of the window's glass. She turned her head, giving him a smile that he understood he liked very much, and her hair swung, pink ribbon floating freely and teasingly.

And Luca knew that friends and dances and Hogwarts and witches…well, one certain witch…mattered.

They more than mattered.

And the girl with the pink ribbon certainly more than mattered.

But Luca pinched himself. "Come on, let's play," he said, changing the subject and summoning her back to the game. Because he also felt that it was too early to think that far into the future….

**Author's Note:**

> :3 Considering all the angst I've recently written, I REALLY needed to write something fluffy, and this was! Their friendship's cute to me, and they're together in my headcanon, yup. Some of the early description about their meeting comes from my fic, "[Different](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29888895)." Lastly, Luca and Alice were in the D.A., which is why we have their names but nothing much else about them, so their descriptions and Houses are of my own making. Not to worry, though! I'll deffo be writing more of them, not to mention that they'll be popping up in my other fics now, too. Haha, Luca as friends with Dennis and Nigel…too cute! X3
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please review!
> 
> -mew-tsubaki :3
> 
> 2017 note: Barely anything to edit here, coming back to this 2013 fic. Tho, I have to say, I had to fix something in my old A/N, because I consider both this fic and "Different" to be [Maydayverse](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Maydayverse/works) fics (my overall headcanon). Ahhh, I've doodled Lucalice a bit, but I rly want to write them more. =w=


End file.
